Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Buys 984 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,284 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $81.56 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.69 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Citigroup upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.